Illuminating device for tank trucks



m wwwwuwmwd ww m i "v R o M n m M. N 4. M7 m W Y B u y W Jan. 15, 1952 ILLUMINATING DEVICE FOR TANK TRUCKS Patented Jan. 15, 1952 PATENT- OFFICE?- IELUMINATING'IDEVICE FomTANKrmUcKs; WillianiJ...Tamminga, Goshen, N. Y; Application-:Ma'y 17,1950, Srial NoE 162}504- screens... (01. 240 -;-12;

This invention is and e primarllyrintendedit. fongthegilluminatlonroieihednterior10f;tanks .of tanhitrucksncars:andatrailers used for; theatransr DOItta-tion ofgmiikinibulkx These tanks'areconrmcnlvcconstructed of: orrlinedwith stainless: steel: or.-:-;some.- :other non=corrosive '-.material1s:,.and: ;;be tween trips-git ,is-i1the=:-practice;afor ag-washer'vtoz entersthrough' a manhole atfthetop thereofandz scrub and.1thoroughlyi=c1eanrthe,interior of: the tankziin order. tomaintain :iticleanand sterilec 10 In ,orderx to carryrorr this workyzit is necessary :1 that the interior of sthe; tanka be thoroughly-,1 il.- luminated and-iitchas, generallyx beenithe.a:prace= tice in;;the-;past-ufor therrworkman to.v carryginto r: the tank-:with. :him a ,lamp-suppliedwith. current 21:15 from/.1 an-, extension ;.cord'.-.-. These lamps havesimplyghunggbyggthe cordmln. everwcase'they; cqnstituteva distinctthazardrlfomin the washing z oiz-lthe. tank and :the rinsing thereof with r a hose aswismsual, the; :cordandrlamp beoome:r WebiSOr that the operator touching the same mayp;re,-= ceiiveserious: electrical shockzor, events-electrocuted.. Furthermorerthelamp torsatisfactorily-, illuminate the interiorof rlthe tank,-.-mustproduce a strong light and the'resultingglare oftan-un-v 25 covered bulb. is ver-ytiring. to thew-eyesof the workman, and. .tendsgtm give. himea (headache: or severe eyestrain.--

In an; :application -.filed .onDeoember- 20; 4949,- by .me and, one; J ohns'Vincent Sherlock. as: joint ..30 inyentors,-,- under Serial-No. 133,934,. there is.dis=- closedszagsystem of; illuminating. .-,the.. interior. 0L... tanks..::0f.. 'Ethe, character-a described,, wherein ether. source 0f. illumination ,:is entirely, without .the tank-and isin.,.tl1.e-. forrn. of-aseries of lamps,vthe,.., 5 rays of ,whichare impinged. updn areiiectonposiei tionedwvithinv the tank; the. whole structure..be-.. ing supported ,on the. lceiling of .ltheawash. qroomm- This lstructureioperates -..-with@. vhigh efficiency in the performance-of its intended function, but it 40 is expensive andtthere :arevca-ses'zwherein it cannot .be satisfactorily used as, for example, out of.

doors where there isno means; 'ofzsuppgrtgfor...

the device.

The object zotstheapresenttinventionvis to pro- 5 vide a simple economical construction whicnmay; bezsupport'edeon the edge of:-.the,,manhole.,of:thei tank; and ,which will nohonlniurnish adequate, illumination-,-.;;but will be, penfectlyzrsafe ,to'.;.the:v operator-i both from the standpoint-:01? glare and11=5 electrical-'ashockr In ritsrpreferred form,- the illuminatingr devices of this inventionconsists. of a holder having an elongated tube provided at"one-end with an enlarged-hood having a flaredzendjand in whichtisir'55 positioned. .a 'isealed..beam.lampnsuch asaza-gprojector, spot or flood lamp, so supported that the axisaof" itsebeamrisecoaxial with1theitube. The."-

: tube-:is-sprovided intermediate .its ..ends with.

hook adapted: ;to. --'enga e., with the upstanding; flange 'aroundq the :manhole; of.- the .tank; to supra port the tube inz-uprightwpositionwith the hoodwithin the tank' sovas ;.to -proj ect a .beam oft-light downwardly in. .a substantially. verticahdirection upon a semi-spherical reflector positioned rhori-r zontallybelow and =co-axial-rwith the-rhoodwand; mounted thereon by a plurality of supporting v rodse, With-this arrangement,- the light from the H lamp is cprojecteddownwardly :upon the se inie. spherica-lrefiector.andisfreflected "from the latter to all portions .ofrthe-interior:of.the tankiwith a: substantially. ,uniform illumination..of-.-'all parts-M 3v such interiorand: without serious glare. Current. iS:.'fCd E-to ethe -.lamp;.-.throughewiringsextending. downwardlyr through the .tube .frbrmthe ...upper. end thereof to the lamp socket in whichl-lamp. isssupportedir Featureseoii :the.:invention,...other thanathose adverted -to, willibe apparenthfrom. .the herein:v after detailed rdescription :andappended claims, when .read in. conj unction with the. (accompany-f ingdrawings...

The accompanying drawings illustrate. one...

. practical. .embodimentwf the. invention but.- the.

construction .thereinashowncisato .be understood asillustrative, only,, and notas defining. the. limits ohtheinvention.

Figure. 1 is a centralevertical longitudinal [sec- 1 tion. .oLan i1luminating.;. device according ..,tothe.

present invention vwithecertain .parts shownsin' elevation...

Figure 2.-is alsectionsthrougha .tankicanor. trailer showing the illuminating device vof .thisk invention positioned. therein.

Figure v3 is an. .,enlargedwfragmental. section. showing clearly' the manneriin-lwhichsth'edevice is supported onithe .flange v extendingaround .the manhole oflthe, tank..

Referringtgtortheidrawings... l designates. .an elongated tube,v thelo'wen portioneof whichis 'len.v larged toiornr-a hood .2 the lower end of which. is routWar.dly. -.flared and r inthis.. .fiarediend..is a t. mounting-3hr a .la'mpsocket 4. r This mounting. may be convenientlycheldcin place ,by screws although any. other appropriate method "of. mounting .wil1;.sufiice= Theasocket. I4 is secured. withintheimountingj .byabracket 6 and screws. 1, orain. any. otherimannenito receive the. screw shells of. a sealed .beam.lamp.,9.... When screwed into the socket Lthis, lamp ,engages witha heat resisting gasket H] which' cushions thelamp; againstbreakageandalso.precludestheentrance ofwater into. the interior of-the mounting.,.3.l i

Secured around the periphery of the flared portion of the hood 2 is a plurality of rods H.

the lamp impinge upon said reflector and are reflected in all directions.

The tube I is provided intermediate itsends with a hook [5 which is shown as welded ,or

brazed to the exterior of the tube, although it may be longitudinally adjustable with respect thereto; This hook is adapted to be engaged with the edge of the flange 16 which extends around the manhole ll of tanks of the character described. When thus supported, the device will occupy the position shown in Figure 2. I

Electric current for energizing the lamp is supplied through a cable [8 entering into the upper end of the tube and passing downwardly through rubber bushings l9 and 20, which ex-' eludes entrance of Water, to the lamp socket 4 where said cable has the usual connections with the lamp 9. When thus illuminated, the beam from the lamp will be reflected from the reflector l2, as indicated by rays 1', a few of which are shown in Figure 2, although, in practice, these rays Will be innumerable and will illuminate the most remote portions of the tankwith a soft light imparting a high degree of illumination without glare.

With the construction described, the device is perfectly safe for workmen, the electrical connections to thelamp, including the lamp socket are completely sealed within the'confines of the lamp mounting, so that it is utterly impossible for water to get into the lamp mounting and cause short circuiting which would render workmen liable to electric shock upon contact with the device. In practice, it is found that a stream of water .may be directed from a hose all over the device without any short circuiting or damage to any of the parts. It is quite common in practice for a stream of water to strike the lamp during its use. During the washing of the interior of the tank, the semi-spherical reflector will of course become wet, experience has shown that this does not materially affect its ability to properly reflect light to the most remote parts ofthe tank and provide adequate illumination for the workmen therein.

The light is so hooded as to not only protect it from damage by wetting with water, but to protectit from damage by contact with extraneous bjects. The tube is, in practice, fairly long so that heat generated by the lamp will rise through the tube and beradiated from the tube and thus the parts do not overheat. A workmanlcannot possibly obtain an electric shock from the lamp of this construction, no matter how wet the parts. of the device in the tank may become. Such a workman may shift the device around the flange of the tank as he walks past it and the device may bereadily raised and lowered into the tank as the workman leaves or enters it. I 1 n This invention was particularly conceived for the illumination of the interior of milk transporting tanks. I am aware, however, that it has uses in other environs and the present invention is therefore to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

, 1 An illuminating device comprising: an elongated tube, one end of Which is enlarged to form a hood the free end of which is flared, a sealed beam lamp supported within the flared end of the hood with-its axis parallel to the axis of the 7 tube, rodsextending from said flared end and supporting a semi-spherical reflector coaxial with 15 and in spaced relation to the lamp, an electric cable passing from the lamp longitudinally through the hood and tube and through the distant end of the latter, and means for supporting the tube in upright position.

2. An illuminating device comprising: an elongated tube one end of which is provided with a hood'the free end of which is'fiared, a lamp -mounting positioned within the hood and having an'openend provided internally with a heat resisting gasket, a socket positioned within said mounting and supported thereby, a lamp engag-- ing with said lamp socket with a portion of the lamp seated against the gasket of the mounting to seal the mounting against the entrance of Water at'this point, an electric cable passing longitudinally through the tube and hood and into the interior of the mounting and connected to the lamp socket, an impervious gasket surrounding the cable to preclude the entrance of water into'the mounting about the cable, and rods extending from the flared end of the hood and supporting a semi-spherical reflector in spaced -re1ation to the end of the hood and coaxial with the lamp.

"3. An illuminating device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the free end of the tube is provided with a rubber bushing to seal said end of the tube and cushion the cable against wear.

4. An illuminating device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lamp is a sealed beam lamp.'

5. An illuminating device comprising: a tube provided at one end with a hood having therein a lamp mounting for a sealed beam lamp, a socket within said mounting, a current carrying cable leading to the socket and saidmounting being sealed by gaskets about the cable and the lamp against the passage of water intothe mounting,

rods secured to the hood and supporting a semispherical reflector coaxial with the lamp and in spaced relation to the latter, and means for supporting the hood in upright position.

WILLIAM J. TAMMIN GA.

P REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent: 1

' UNITED STATES, PATENTS England Sept. 14,1938 

